# What really stupid things do you think less of people for? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 15, 2009, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-really-stupid-things-do-you-think-less-of-people-for/489499 "2009-03-15T04:57:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 16
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2009, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-really-stupid-things-do-you-think-less-of-people-for/489499/301 "2009-03-30T00:07:03Z")
> [@raindrop](#): > > On re-reading, honestly, this bolded part sounds like a classic personality disorder trait. Being shown evidence of the truth and still couldn’t accept it? Actually I think it’s a classic trait of all humans everywhere. That’s the reason people don’t take social psychology very seriously. They trust their own perceptions more than they trust the evidence. But the truth is, our perceptions suck. This is why most people believe they are better-than-average drivers, in the top of the pack in their professional evironment, etc. Do you think it’s mere coincidence that a lot of people here are convinced Dopers are more intelligent and funny and wonderful than the average population? Our brains are wired to perceive ourselves as magnificent and everyone else as mere Philistines. Our anecdotal observations tend to be riddled with error, confirmation bias, and piss-poor scientific method. I think there is a distinction, which I neglected to draw in my original response, between snobbery and bullying. Snobbery is kind of a nebulous term and would have to somehow be quantified somehow to get any reliable research results, but I suppose if you can quantify narcissism, you can quantify snobbery. I’m guessing the two are linked, but have no proof of that. The studies in question have specifically targeted people who regularly participate in aggressive behavior. They have also linked narcissism with aggressive behavior (by ‘‘aggressive behavior’’ I mean anything from acting like an asshole to committing a violent crime.) The second article down on [this page](http://www.sitemaker.umich.edu/brad.bushman/recent_publications)may be a good start. Certain studies merely isolate an overinflated sense of self-esteem as one potential cause of aggression. [QUOTE=Looking again, and harder, for a link between low self-esteem and aggression] Recent field studies have revived the hypothesis that low self-esteem causes aggression. Accordingly, we reanalyzed the data from a previous experiment and conducted a new experiment to study direct physical aggression in the form of blasting a fellow participant with aversive noise. We also conducted a field study using a measure of indirect aggression in the form of a consequential negative evaluation. High narcissists were more aggressive than others but only when provoked by insult or humiliation and only toward the source of criticism. The combination of high self-esteem and high narcissism produced the highest levels of aggression. These results support the view of aggression as stemming from threatened egotism and are inconsistent with the hypothesis that low self-esteem causes either direct or indirect aggression. [/QUOTE] For those generally interested in this area of study, Bushman (my husband’s boss at the ISR) was recently on the _Penn and Teller: Bullshit!_ show to discuss the myth of catharsis. (The Episode was ‘‘Anger Management’’) from I think Season 5. Venting actually appears to make people angrier and more aggressive, not calmer. Note the dissonance between what we think venting does and what it actually does. Our years of experience tell us that venting calms us down, but in controlled scientific experiments, it clearly doesn’t. A fascinating thing, human perception. ---
**Author:** ![raindrop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/74df32/32.png) [@raindrop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raindrop)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2009, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-really-stupid-things-do-you-think-less-of-people-for/489499/302 "2009-03-30T02:38:16Z")
\*\* olivesmarch4th\*\*, 1. I don’t regard dopers as anything special. And I’m surprised that so many of them regard themselves as anything special. In fact, I specifically chuckled at the thought/irony of how many dopers seem to hold themselves as superior to others when I first read that statement in \*\* msmith537\*\*'s post. (And then I chuckled again at **ExTank** ’s subsequent response.) 2. In some of your statements you seem to be contradicting yourself. For instance, “an overinflated sense of self-esteem” seems to indicate that someone’s sense of self-esteem is bogus, and not based in reality. And I tend to think that when someone’s egoism is not based in reality it’s because s/he is compensating for a lack of something they can’t accept in full awareness. Genuinely secure people do not overinflate themselves in false ways; they tend to get it just about right, and don’t need to go too far “over.” 3. Bullies are believed by many psychologists to suffer from a personality disorder, of which Narcissistic Personality Disorder is one possibility. Those with NPD can’t really comprehend their own feelings of inferiority. And that’s why asking bullies whether they regard themselves as superior is questionable (and even laughable). As you already pointed out, even when they are shown they are really not superior, they are still convinced that they really are. Again, that’s classic. 4. Too much more of a discussion about the psychology of this (which really is interesting to me) would be too far off-topic of this thread IMO. 5. Even if we were to take it to another thread, I still might not follow-through by properly researching and discussing this. IOW while I’m interested in some ways, I’m still probably not _that_ interested. But I will eventually look up those links and read with great interest at my leisure, thanks. 🙂 6. I’m aware that all psychologists are not in lock step. That means that for every one I agree with I’m sure there are plenty on the opposing side of the issue. Like everyone else I guess I tend to follow along with the ones who make the most logical sense to me. Naturally. 7. Venting also makes me more aggressive, and acting calmer makes me calmer, so I’m right with you and Bushman on that one.🆒 8. Sometimes I think less of people who disagree with me… and then again, sometimes I don’t. 😉 9. I really had no idea I would write this much, geez.:rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2009, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-really-stupid-things-do-you-think-less-of-people-for/489499/303 "2009-03-30T03:21:47Z")
> [@raindrop](#): > > 1. I don’t regard dopers as anything special. And I’m surprised that so many of them regard themselves as anything special. In fact, I specifically chuckled at the thought/irony of how many dopers seem to hold themselves as superior to others when I first read that statement in \*\* msmith537\*\*'s post. (And then I chuckled again at **ExTank** ’s subsequent response.) I respectfully disagree. Even the dumbest among us take the time to read other people’s arguments before ignoring them. That sets us apart from the general population, you know. ---
**Author:** ![raindrop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/74df32/32.png) [@raindrop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raindrop)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2009, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-really-stupid-things-do-you-think-less-of-people-for/489499/304 "2009-03-30T05:49:25Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > I respectfully disagree. Even the dumbest among us take the time to read other people’s arguments before ignoring them. That sets us apart from the general population, you know. … and on the flip side, I always think _very_ highly of anyone who can make me laugh. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![HelloKitty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ecccb3/32.png) [@HelloKitty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HelloKitty)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2009, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-really-stupid-things-do-you-think-less-of-people-for/489499/305 "2009-03-30T14:10:55Z")
> [@overlyverbose](#): > > But must you really have Hello Kitty crap all over your walls? You’re almost 40, for God’s sake. Do I work with you or something!!?? :dubious: 😃 Mine is people who take their dog out in public, to the dog park, to PetSmart or just out for a walk…then GLARE at you if you dare to say hello to the doggy or even ask to pet it! They also will look at my very social pug with disdain when she tries to say hello in doggiespeak. Why have a dog if you don’t want to be social with it, dogs are very social animals. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2009, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-really-stupid-things-do-you-think-less-of-people-for/489499/306 "2009-03-30T14:16:55Z")
Think of them as little waggy meat storage units. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2009, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-really-stupid-things-do-you-think-less-of-people-for/489499/307 "2009-03-30T14:33:22Z")
> [@HelloKitty](#): > > Mine is people who take their dog out in public, to the dog park, to PetSmart or just out for a walk…then GLARE at you if you dare to say hello to the doggy or even ask to pet it! They also will look at my very social pug with disdain when she tries to say hello in doggiespeak. Why have a dog if you don’t want to be social with it, dogs are very social animals. I wish you lived near me. My new neighbors have a pug, and I’ve been sort of stalking them in hopes of catching them outside so I can give him a snuggle. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2009, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-really-stupid-things-do-you-think-less-of-people-for/489499/308 "2009-03-30T14:55:49Z")
Ha! We were walking our corgis on Saturday and two of our neighbors practically jumped us! They’ve been wanting to get a corgi and were waiting for us to walk by! ---
**Author:** ![bink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/439d5e/32.png) [@bink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bink)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2009, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-really-stupid-things-do-you-think-less-of-people-for/489499/309 "2009-03-30T15:02:46Z")
People drop immediately in my estimation when they online-laugh “hehe” or “LOLOL”. Heh, I get it. Hee hee, sure. But “hehe” is just wrong. I know sometimes it’s a typo for “heh” but I’m talking about people who use it habitually. I don’t hate LOL. But LOLOLOLOLOL makes it clear that the person has no idea what they are typing. ---
**Author:** ![EmAnJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d2c977/32.png) [@EmAnJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmAnJ)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2009, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-really-stupid-things-do-you-think-less-of-people-for/489499/310 "2009-03-30T15:15:28Z")
People who use the automatic door opener when they aren’t physically incapable of opening the door with their own arms. It takes much longer to open anyway, so why not just open the damn door properly? Lazy buggers. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2009, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-really-stupid-things-do-you-think-less-of-people-for/489499/311 "2009-03-30T17:09:36Z")
> [@HelloKitty](#): > > Mine is people who take their dog out in public, to the dog park, to PetSmart or just out for a walk…then GLARE at you if you dare to say hello to the doggy They may be teaching the dog to walk with them in public, not to investigate every distraction that comes along. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![raindrop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/74df32/32.png) [@raindrop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raindrop)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2009, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-really-stupid-things-do-you-think-less-of-people-for/489499/312 "2009-03-31T01:11:50Z")
> [@EmAnJ](#): > > People who use the automatic door opener when they aren’t physically incapable of opening the door with their own arms. It takes much longer to open anyway, so why not just open the damn door properly? Lazy buggers. Ahem… I do that. Looking at me from the outside everybody who knows/meets me thinks I’m in very good health. But I actually have physical limitations and other health issues that aren’t obvious from the outside. And when automatic door openers were put on regular doors that made them even more difficult to open for those of us with limited mobility. I also hate it when I pull on a door without realizing it’s an automatic door, argh! But I don’t make that mistake more than once with the same door. So, yeah, I push a button instead, and suffer the scorn of those who really don’t have a clue. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2009, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-really-stupid-things-do-you-think-less-of-people-for/489499/313 "2009-03-31T02:57:12Z")
> [@matt\_mcl](#): > > Canadians like you and me tend to “nativize foreign /a/” to /æ/ as in hat (so we usually say “pasta” as /pʰæstə/ with the first syllable rhyming with “fast”). /æ/ becomes /ɛ/ before r, so that Mario sounds like merry-o. In other lects, foreign /a/ is nativized to /ɑ/ (“pasta” is /pʰɑstə/, first syllable rhyming with “cost”), which stays /ɑ/ before r, so the first syllable of Mario rhymes with car. Thanks! That clears it up. And here I was always slightly annoyed by the pretentiousness of people pronouncing pasta as if it was still in Italian when they were speaking English. It’s become an English word. Oddly, I tend to do the same with French words that have not been nativized. Then there’s the name of the City of Montreal: is it “Mun-tree-all” or “Mon-rayal”? Depends on context and what language you’re speaking! ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2009, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-really-stupid-things-do-you-think-less-of-people-for/489499/314 "2009-03-31T03:35:39Z")
[QUOTE=matt\_mcl] Canadians like you and me tend to “nativize foreign /a/” to /æ/ as in hat (so we usually say “pasta” as /pʰæstə/ with the first syllable rhyming with “fast”). /æ/ becomes /ɛ/ before r, so that Mario sounds like merry-o. In other lects, foreign /a/ is nativized to /ɑ/ (“pasta” is /pʰɑstə/, first syllable rhyming with “cost”), which stays /ɑ/ before r, so the first syllable of Mario rhymes with car. [/QUOTE] FTR, in the English (ie., British) pronunciation of pasta, the first a sounds like the one in _pat_, not like an o. ---
**Author:** ![Lawn\_Gnome](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lawn\_Gnome](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lawn_Gnome)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2009, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-really-stupid-things-do-you-think-less-of-people-for/489499/315 "2009-03-31T04:10:16Z")
I really hate when people in crowded places don’t walk on the right side of the sidewalk, hallway, pathway, ect. Many of these people will then stop in the middle, or on the wrong side of said hallway and start texting or talking to someone they know. ---
**Author:** ![Commander\_Keen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e8c25b/32.png) [@Commander\_Keen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Commander_Keen)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2009, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-really-stupid-things-do-you-think-less-of-people-for/489499/316 "2009-03-31T06:19:03Z")
People who refer to Wikipedia as “Wiki”. ---
**Author:** ![EmAnJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d2c977/32.png) [@EmAnJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmAnJ)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2009, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-really-stupid-things-do-you-think-less-of-people-for/489499/317 "2009-03-31T14:40:25Z")
> [@raindrop](#): > > Ahem… I do that. Looking at me from the outside everybody who knows/meets me thinks I’m in very good health. But I actually have physical limitations and other health issues that aren’t obvious from the outside. And when automatic door openers were put on regular doors that made them even more difficult to open for those of us with limited mobility. I also hate it when I pull on a door without realizing it’s an automatic door, argh! But I don’t make that mistake more than once with the same door. So, yeah, I push a button instead, and suffer the scorn of those who really don’t have a clue. That’s why I pretty much said ‘unless they are physically incapable’, which you are. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2009, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-really-stupid-things-do-you-think-less-of-people-for/489499/318 "2009-03-31T23:54:42Z")
Men who say ‘We’re pregnant’ when his wife is pregnant. ---
**Author:** ![Bad\_News\_Baboon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5fc32e/32.png) [@Bad\_News\_Baboon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bad_News_Baboon)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2009, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-really-stupid-things-do-you-think-less-of-people-for/489499/319 "2009-04-01T05:31:37Z")
> [@Khadaji](#): > > If a person says _Anyhoo_ or any other silly replacement for anyhow. This one is what gets me. It makes me cringe. ---
**Author:** ![yams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/848f3c/32.png) [@yams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yams)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2009, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-really-stupid-things-do-you-think-less-of-people-for/489499/320 "2009-04-01T07:10:47Z")
I think people who say “lurve” instead of “love” come across like drooling morons. love yams!! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-really-stupid-things-do-you-think-less-of-people-for/489499.md?page=15) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-really-stupid-things-do-you-think-less-of-people-for/489499.md?page=17)